Z.P.G.
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Michael Campus
Oliver Reed
Geraldine Chaplin
Don Gordon
Diane Cilento
David Markham
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
On a grim, smog-engulfed 21st-century Earth, humans are forced to wear atmospheric masks and protective suits to survive the harsh environment. Life is further dehumanized by the state's constant surveillance and daily meals consisting of synthetically produced entrees delivered in plastic tubes and on trays. Pollution and overpopulation have destroyed most of the natural habitat, necessitating a government edict forbidding humans from procreation for a thirty-year period. To calm the maternal instincts of childless mothers, mechanical doll infants and toddlers are available for adoption at Babyland. Carol and Russ McNeil wait for hours in the long line for the dolls, but are so disturbed by their artificiality and recorded slogans that they abruptly leave and return to work at the Natural Habitat of 20th Century Man, a state-operated facility that showcases replicas of flora and fauna long since extinct, including once-common rabbits, turtles, cats and dogs. As part of the exhibits, Carol and Russ dwell in authentic replicas of 1970s apartments, where they are occasionally on display, allowing visitors to view them dining with their neighbors, George and Edna Borden, simulating 20th-century conversations. One day, Carol seeks the help of a doctor, admitting that she is unable to make love to her husband even with audio-visual erotic aides and that she longs for a child. The stern official reminds her that real motherhood is not a possibility. Later at Twilight City, a retirement community, Carol visits with old friends Dr. Herrick and his wife Mary. The doctor reminisces that the medical establishment cured most diseases, but admits that the resulting population growth has destroyed humanity. Back on the street, Carol witnesses a sector security unit apprehend Thomas and Alice, a couple who defied regulation by giving birth to a baby. The floating announcement monitor then broadcasts that the couple and their baby will be executed in the nearby extermination chamber. Distraught, Carol seeks comfort with a collection of family memorabilia and decides to not use the instant abortion machine after she makes love with Russ that night. Meanwhile, Edna and George adopt a mechanical child, but Edna is soon dissatisfied despite her psychiatrist's attempts to encourage her to love her toddler. As Christmas nears, Carol longs for a real tree, but after being dissuaded by Russ, agrees to purchase a fake tree through Metromart, an in-home shopping network. When the salesman on the display screen flirts with Carol, Russ promptly turns off the monitor before the purchase can be made. Soon after, a guilt-ridden Russ returns home with a real tree that he has cut, despite the danger of being jailed for the crime. Inspired by his show of devotion, Carol tells him that she is pregnant. In order to protect Carol from state detection, they decide that Russ will explain to their friends and co-workers, including Edna and George, that Carol's distress over childlessness prompted her to leave Russ, while she actually goes into hiding in the bomb shelter under their apartment during the pregnancy. Over the ensuing months, Carol's isolation in the darkened room causes fights between the couple, but their relationship survives. One day, several weeks before the baby is due, Carol has severe contractions. Unable to seek medical advice from a doctor, Russ researches premature birth at the library, but when government surveillance discovers his inquiry, they interrogate and torture him, trying to assess if he knows of any real infants. After convincing them that his inquiry was a mistake, Russ returns home where he must help Carol through labor without any medical advice. Baby Jessie finally arrives, but is soon taken ill. Desperate for help, Carol sneaks him into Twilight City to visit Herrick, who assures her the baby is healthy. Russ soon announces that Carol has returned to him and that he has adopted a mechanical child to assuage her maternal instincts. Suspicious, Edna follows Carol and soon discovers the real child. Driven by jealousy, Edna and George demand to spend increasing amounts of the time with infant, vowing to inform authorities if Carol and Russ do not submit to their demands. Realizing it is only a matter of time before their neighbors' growing possessiveness will rise to the level of hysteria, Russ and Carol make an escape plan and dig a tunnel from under their apartment to the site of the extermination chamber. Only days later, Edna and George insist that they take full control of baby Jessie. When Edna grabs the child from Carol and discovers it is the mechanical doll, she smashes it to bits. In their delirium, she and George tell the authorities that Carol and Russ have a child, knowing that they will be sentencing both their friends and the child to death. Once Russ, Carol and Jessie are enclosed in the extermination chamber, they escape through the tunnel under the chamber floor and race to their waiting life raft and supplies. Rowing through the underground sewage canals, Russ, Carol and Jessie finally reach an above-ground waterway that carries them to an abandoned missile site, where they will attempt to start a new life.
Director
Michael Campus
Cast
Oliver Reed
Geraldine Chaplin
Don Gordon
Diane Cilento
David Markham
Bill Nagy
Sheila Reid
Aubrey Woods
Wayne John Rhodda
Ditte Maria
Birgitte Federspiel
Lone Lindorff
Belinda Donkin
Claus Nissen
Jeff Slocombe
Dale Robinson
Victor Lipari
Michael Hildesheim
Paul Secon
Carlotta Magnoff
Eugene Blau
Bent Christensen
Sam Maisen
Annelise Gabold
Torben Hundahl
Peter Ronild
Birthe Tove
Birgitte Frigast
Brian Keifer
Vladimir Kandell
Lene Vasegaard
Peter Hohnen
Theis Ib Husfelt
Lotte Tholander
Christian Sarvig
Crew
Brian Brockwell
Jane Buck
Richard Dalton
Frank De Felitta
Frank De Felitta
Frank De Felitta
Ron Drinkwater
Max Ehrlich
Max Ehrlich
Dick Frift
Norman Gryspeerdt
Geoffrey Haine
Anders Volmer Hansen
Lena Henriksen
Jonathan Hodge
Peter Højmark
Benny Jacobsen
Erling Jorgensen
Sandra Kolber
Doreen Landry
Harry Lange
Dennis Lanning
Kai Larsen
Jimmy Leavens
Thomas F. Madigan
Gert Madsen
Tony Masters
Prof. P. C. Matthiessen
Derek Meddings
Richard C. Meyer
H. P. Møeller-anderson
Jytte Paby
Andrew Patterson
Michael Reed
Mikael Salomon
Hugh Strain
Jan Weincke
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The opening title credit dissolves into Z.P.G. from Zero Population Growth, which was a working title for the film. Other working titles were The First of January and The Edict. In a 14 May 72 Los Angeles Examiner article, director Michael Campus stated that the film was influenced by population projections from Dr. Paul Ehrlich's 1968 book The Population Bomb, which predicted imminent worldwide famine due to overpopulation and scarcity of resources.
Z.P.G., although produced by an American company, was filmed in Denmark, with interiors shot at Asa Studios in Copenhagen. A April 21, 1971 Variety "International Sound Track" article noted that Sagittarius Productions president Henry White, upset by lack of adherence to the screenplay, fired several crew members including assistant director Trine Hedman, director of photography Mikael Salomon and Campus. Campus was rehired, but Salomon was replaced by Michael Reed. Hollywood Reporter production charts list "Anker," who is also known as Anker Sørensen, as the editor for the film.
A March 29, 1972 Los Angeles Examiner article noted that Zero Population Growth was an actual organization that promoted the control of population growth through voluntary birth control, not the criminalizing of childbirth. The group sought an injunction preventing the use of its name for the title for the film, but lost the lawsuit. Most reviews of the film were highly critical, suggesting that in addition to poor performances, the ending was over simplified.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1972
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1972
